


Life and Times After the End

by Peridaniel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Fun, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Post-Canon, Silly, all the endgame ships living happy lives basically, though its not just ship focused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24224638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peridaniel/pseuds/Peridaniel
Summary: A month's worth of mostly unconnected (expect the first and last chapter) one-shots I'm writing as a goodbye to one of the greatest animated series I've ever watched. All take place at varying points after the end of the series. Mostly a mix of fluff and silliness with a tiny bit of hurt/comfort thrown in.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Kyle/Rogelio (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 144
Kudos: 506





	1. The Big Question

**Author's Note:**

> Probably not the best idea to go into something like this when I already have so many ongoing fics, but my mind's been coming up with a thousand story ideas a minute ever since I finished season 5 earlier today. And, as the description stated, I feel it's a good way to say goodbye to a wonderful show. Besides, I've already got a few written and plenty of free time to write more. So... hope you enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has a big question for Adora, and is pretty nervous about asking it.

Standing by the front doors of the Bright Moon Castle, Catra couldn't stop the anxious tapping of her feet or relax her tail as she waited for everyone she was expecting to arrive. 

"Come on, Entrapta," she muttered. "If you don't get over here before Adora gets home, I swear..." 

"It's gonna be okay, Catra." 

Catra yelped in surprise and nearly fell over. She turned around to see Glimmer standing with Bow right behind her, both wearing calm smiles. 

She relaxed and sighed. "Don't scare me like that, Sparkles." 

"Sorry," Glimmer said with a sheepish chuckle. "But I'm sure Entrapta will be here with the ring any minute now." 

"She was supposed to have the ring three days ago," Catra responded, folding her arms. "She probably got distracted by who-knows-what." 

"Well, she said she'd be on her way today and that it's all ready," said Bow. 

"Again, she better be." Catra turned back around to face the door. 

After a few moments of silence, Catra looked down at the ground. "Um... what do I do if she says no?" 

"She's not gonna say no," Bow replied. 

"Yea," Glimmer said. "Adora loves you, Catra. She'll be over the moon." 

"But what if she's not ready yet?" asked Catra, putting her hands on her head. "What if this just makes her all uncomfortable? What if she breaks up with me? What if-" 

"Catra," Glimmer cut her off and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just relax, okay? You and I both know that she'd never break up with you, and I know that she's going to say yes." 

Catra took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax. "Okay." 

"And here comes Entrapta with the ring," Bow said, peering out a window. "See? It's already going off without a hitch." 

"Yes, I am here with the ring!" yelled Entrapta as she swung open the castle doors, proudly holding a crudely cut silver ring with a dark red stone in the center. 

"Good," Catra said with a small smile. "Thank you, Entrapta." 

"No problem," Entrapta cheerfully responded. 

As Catra took the ring, however, she jumped in surprise once again as it suddenly emitted a powerful laser that shot up at the ceiling continuously until she dropped the ring on the ground. 

"Goodie, some damages that I have to pay for," Glimmer muttered as she looked despondently at the gaping hole in the ceiling. 

"Oh, yea!" Entrapta yelled. "It shoots lasers if you put pressure on the part around the stone. Isn't that cool?" 

"No, it's not cool!" Catra replied, turning Entrapta's enthusiastic smile into a sad pout. "You were supposed to make me an engagement ring, not a weapon!" 

"Ohhhhhh," Entrapta said slowly as she looked up with wide eyes. "Why did you want me to make it?" 

"Because you're good at making stuff!" replied Catra. "And I _thought_ you would be able to-" 

Before she continued, she noticed Entrapta's pout returning to her face and the fact that her fists were curled up tight. She took a deep breath and continued more quietly. 

"I'm sorry. It'll work, it's just... not what I was expecting." 

"All righty then," Entrapta responded, instantly returning to her usual cheerful demeanor. 

"Uh, Catra," Bow said, still looking out the window. "The pigeon is returning to the nest." 

Glimmer, Catra, and Entrapta all looked back at him dumbfounded. 

"Adora is back," Bow said flatly. 

Catra's tail once again anxiously shot up in the air. "All of you, go away!" 

All three scrambled down the hallways and into the closest room they could find that was out of sight, but slowly peeked back out after Catra looked away. 

Catra quickly scrambled to pick up the ring, careful to not touch the part around the stone, and held it behind her back as Adora came through the door with Swift Wind.

"Welcome home, Adora," she said as casually as she could, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice. After giving her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, she asked, "How were Scorpia and Perfuma?" 

"They were good," Adora replied with a smile. "Scorpia's actually getting the hang of gardening. Well, aside from the petunias she accidentally clipped with her claws." 

As they continued talking, Swift Wind saw Bow, Glimmer, and Entrapta peeking out of the room they were in and quickly joined them inside. 

"Ooh, what's going on?" he whispered. "We spying on them?" 

"Shhhhh!" Glimmer hushed him and whispered back, "Yes. Catra's about to propose to Adora." 

"Propose?" Swift Wind kicked up his front legs. "That's amazing!" 

"Shhhhhhh!" Both Glimmer and Bow shushed him now. 

"Oh, right. We have to be quiet." Swift Wind got back on all fours and joined the others against the doorway. 

"So, um, I have something to ask you," Catra said, her foot tapping anxiously once again. 

"Sure, what is it?" Adora asked back. 

"Oh, geez, I'm not really good at this kinda stuff, so sorry if it's all... awkward," Catra said. "But, Adora-" 

"Wait, did I do something wrong?" Adora asked, putting her hands on her face and pacing around. "Oh, no! Is this about my snoring? Because I was really congested last night." 

"Adora..." 

"Or is it about when I put Melog in that goofy Christmas sweater? He's not still mad at me, is he?" 

"Adora-" 

"Or what about that double date we had with Mermista and Sea Hawk last week when I accidentally-" 

"Adora!" 

Adora finally stopped talking and stood still, waiting for what Catra had to say next. 

"This isn't about something you did wrong," Catra said. 

"Then what is it?" 

Trying her best to keep her hands from shaking, Catra presented the ring to her girlfriend, who appeared confused. 

"We've been together for awhile now, and, I guess, basically, I want that 'awhile' to become forever," Catra said. "Ugh, that sounds so cheesy, but... whatever. You get my point." 

"What are you saying?" Adora asked, tilting her head. 

"I wanted to ask you..." Catra replied before trailing off. Steeling herself, she looked Adora right in the eyes. "Adora, will you marry me?" 

Adora gasped and her eyes widened to the biggest size Catra had ever seen them. Despite her anxiety, she had to bite her lip to prevent from laughing. 

"Marry me?" Adora asked quietly. 

"Uh, yea," Catra said, glancing back down and blushing. 

She was nearly knocked off her feet by Adora suddenly tackling her with a tight hug and smothering her face with kisses. 

"Yes!" she shouted, tears building up in her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Catra, yes!" 

"Alright, alright, it's a yes then," Catra said with a tiny smile, lightly pushing her now fiancé off of her. "You don't have to suffocate me here." 

"Sorry," Adora responded, taking the ring and looking at it in adoration. "I'm just very happy." She took her girlfriend's hand, who gladly held it back. 

"Wooo hoooo!" Everyone who was spying on them from the nearby room showed themselves and began to cheer. 

"I told you she'd say yes!" Glimmer shouted with her fist in the air. 

"You two are getting married!" Bow yelled. "It's finally happening!" 

Swift Wind threw up his front legs and loudly and happily neighed while Entrapta stood next to him, hands in the air. "This is so exciting!" 

The couple laughed at their friends' excited reactions before tenderly holding each other and kissing for a few moments.

After breaking from the kiss, Adora put her ring on her finger and jumped in surprise when she saw a laser beam emit from the ring and strike the ceiling, prompting Glimmer to groan in frustration and walk off. 

"Oh, yea," Catra said, glaring at Entrapta. "I forgot to tell you that the ring shoots lasers if you hold the part around the stone." 

"A ring that shoots lasers?" Adora responded, her eyes widening again. Taking Catra by surprise with another tight hug, she said, "This is the best day ever!" 

Catra laughed and accepted the hug. "It sure is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are probably a million Catradora proposal fics out there already, and probably a million more being put up now that they're endgame, but this is my take and I LIKE IT.
> 
> And, spoiler alert, in case you couldn't put the pieces together from the summary, the last chapter is gonna be the wedding. :D


	2. A New Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta comes home with a baby. This can't be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, before I start this chapter, I just wanna say... holy shit. This fic BLEW UP. 218 kudos and 34 bookmarks after just a day and just one chapter, a good chunk of those being received before the fic even reached the 24 hour mark. I'm so happy with the love this fic has already been getting. You all are amazing. 💙💙💙
> 
> Now, onto this chapter: Entrapdak! To be honest, I never liked this ship. I was always clinging onto Pertrapta, even long after it had been rendered hopeless. But... come on, now. They were so happy to see each other at the end, and Hordak's memories of her are what encouraged him to break from Horde Prime and (attempt to) kill the bitch. HOW CAN I NOT BE HAPPY FOR THEM? So, without further ado, a very goofy Entrapdak-centric one shot.

It was another normal day in Dryl's castle. Hordak sat back in his partner's lab, waiting for her to come home so they could work on whatever she had planned for that day. 

"Here's some tiny loaves of banana bread," one of the chefs said as she entered holding a tray with two of the mentioned loaves on them. "Wrong Hordak helped us make them this time around. One for you, and one for the princess when she returns from... whatever she's doing."

"Thank you," Hordak said, taking the tray from her. He took one of the loaves of bread and examined it. "What's with her and all this tiny food anyway?"

"We're not too sure," the chef replied with a shrug. "Just says it's easier for her to eat it when it's tiny. She'll only eat big food if Queen Glimmer makes it." 

"I see," Hordak responded. "Well, run along then." He waved his hand to shoo her away. 

"Yes, sir." The chef exited the room, leaving Hordak alone continuing to examine the bread. 

"Hi, Hordak!" The opening of the door and the sudden cheerful greeting led him to look at the entryway where Entrapta had returned with her pigtails conspicuously behind her back.

"Hello, dear," Hordak greeted back with a small smile. 

"So, what do you think about becoming a father?" 

The smile became a bewildered expression. "...What?" 

Entrapta smiled brightly and revealed what was behind her back: a baby. 

"Um, Entrapta, where did you find this infant?" Hordak asked, getting up from his seat and walking to his girlfriend and the new arrival. 

"I just found it sitting alone in a stroller at the marketplace," replied Entrapta. "And I figured, hey, we've never experimented on babies before, and this one was just out in the open, so..." 

"Um, okay," Hordak sat back down. "Fair enough. What do you want to do to this infant?" 

"Hmm..." 

Before Entrapta could think of anything, though, the baby suddenly began crying loudly.

"Well, before anything, we need to get it to stop doing that," grumbled Hordak as he twisted his finger in his ear. 

"Oh, yea," Entrapta said. "Babies begin these outbursts of crying due to lack of ability to articulate words for proper communication. It's typically an indicator that they are hungry, in pain, or craving attention. It's kinda a trial-and-error process to figure out what."

"I know how babies work, Entrapta," Hordak said, folding his arms in annoyance. "I raised several of them in the Horde. Let's try feeding it." 

"Good idea!" Entrapta tilted her head and rubbed her chin. "Now, what is it that babies eat?" 

"Well, we mashed up some ration bars for them in the Fright Zone." 

Entrapta smiled and clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Ah, yes! Because babies lack teeth needed to chew solid food!" 

Hordak rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear." 

"So, therefore, they need their food liquefied!" 

"Yes, dear. They need their food liquefied." 

Entrapta set the baby down on a lab table and looked on with a proud, determined look. "Let's feed this baby."

* * *

The tiny loaves of banana bread were now crushed up into a mush and put into a plastic cup with a spoon. The baby was in a high chair, slapping the table and still crying. 

"Alrighty, little Kevin," Entrapta said, holding the cup and approaching the high chair. "Your father-" she snickered- "has successfully made our servings of banana bread into a mush edible to a baby of your age." 

"You called it Kevin?" Hordak asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Well, yea."

Hordak rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Fine."

"Anyway, Kevin, eat up!" 

Entrapta then took a spoonful of the mush and raised it to Kevin's mouth. Kevin, however, turned his head away and pouted. 

"Kevin, you need to eat if you want to be at top health for the experiments we're going to run on you," Entrapta whined with a frown. 

She tried once again, only for Kevin to turn his head in the other direction, still pouting. 

Hordak sighed and took the cup from his partner. "Let me try." 

With a scowl and a forceful drive of the spoonful towards the baby's mouth, he shouted, "Eat the mush, you ungrateful infant!" 

This time, the mush successfully went into Kevin's mouth and both Entrapta and Hordak smiled in satisfaction. 

This satisfaction only lasted a few moments, though, as Kevin spat out the mush directly into Hordak's face and began laughing hysterically at the resulting sight, slapping the table once again. 

"This isn't working," Hordak grumbled, wiping the mush off his face in exasperation. 

"Well, at least he stopped crying," said Entrapta.

* * *

"Alright, we have Kevin fed and his emotional outbursts have stopped," Entrapta said, putting the baby back on the lab table.

"Great," responded Hordak. "Can we begin our experiments now?" 

As he asked that, Kevin made a strange, strained face and curled up his legs. 

Hordak sighed. "What's he doing now?" 

"I think he's, um..." Entrapta thought of a light way to put it, "...releasing waste into his diaper." 

Sure enough, as Kevin relaxed his legs again, his diaper visibly filled up an a toxic, pungent odor filled the space around him. 

Hordak gagged and put his hands over his face while Entrapta winced and held her nose shut. "Uh huh," she said. "I was correct." 

"I fed him, you're changing him," said Hordak as he walked away from the lab table.

Entrapta groaned as she lifted the baby up, turning her head away to avoid the awful stench. "I don't even have any diapers..."

* * *

"Okay," Entrapta said, putting Kevin, who was now wearing a trash sack around his lower half with holes for his legs cut in it, back on the lab table once again. "He's fed, he's changed, and he's content. Now, if there will be no further complications-" her eye twitched- "we may begin experimentation. Now, if-" 

"Princess?" one of the chefs came in.

Entrapta turned around with a strained rictus spread on her face, her right eye rapidly twitching. "Yeeesss?" 

"Oh, I didn't know you were busy," the chef said. "But, uh, there are two people who one of the traps caught who wanted to talk to you. They say it's urgent, but it'll only be a moment." 

"Send them away!" shouted Hordak, slamming his hand on the lab table hard enough to lightly bounce Kevin up in the air. "And get out of here!" 

Despite what Hordak said, though, Kyle came forward through the doorway with Rogelio standing behind him, both wearing wordied expressions. 

"Please," Kyle said. "We know it's a long shot, but we've looked everywhere. We just wanna know if you've seen our little Angelo." After glancing back to Rogelio's affirmative grunt, he continued. "We left him in his stroller while we were buying stuff from the market, and when we looked back, he was gone." 

Entrapta's face calmed and she blinked slowly as she absorbed the information. "Ohhhhhhh..." Holding up the baby, she said, "This is _your_ baby." 

"You stole our baby!?" shouted Kyle, throwing his arms out. Rogelio curled one of his hands up into a fist and growled. 

"Oh, he's okay," Entrapta responded, quickly grabbing Angelo from the lab table with her pigtails. "We haven't started any experiments on him yet, and we kept him well fed." 

" _You were going to experiment on him!?_ " Kyle's voice raised even more while Rogelio's growls grew louder. Looking closer, he added, " _And you put him in a garbage bag?_ " 

"Only because I didn't have any diapers," Entrapta said with a shrug. "If I had kept him for longer, I would have eventually bought some." 

Kyle angrily took Angelo back and scowled at Entrapta. "Never touch our son again. Either of you." 

"Yes, sir!" Entrapta smiled and saluted him. "But, wait, can I please perform just one experiment on him?" 

"NO!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write. Tomorrow's chapter is already written (been binge writing this shit, yo) and... lemme just say its a bit of a mood whiplash from this one. It will end well- they always will, I'm not here for tragedy- but it's gonna definitely be a hurt/comfort one. So, uh, get ready for that haha.


	3. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spinerella has a bad dream that surfaces bad memories. Luckily, Netossa is there to comfort her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hurt/comfort time, lads. Nothing else to really say, not in the beginning notes anyway, except that this one's a little shorter than the last two. I usually like to keep my chapters the same length, but I figured with 31 self-contained stories, it didn't matter. Anyway, here you go.

While the dense trees of the Whispering Woods blocked any sunlight from peeking through, Netossa's face was glowing on its own as she looked on peacefully, sitting on a log in the middle of a clearing. 

Spinerella smiled and sat beside her, placing her hand gently on her wife's. The smile grew wider as Netossa looked at her and smiled back. 

"Hey, you," she softly greeted before giving Spinerella a quick kiss. 

"Hello, darling," Spinerella said back, holding her wife close. 

A sudden scream interrupted the moment and prompted both of them to get up off the log and look around for any sign of trouble. This soon enough came with a group of villagers sprinting through the clearing, followed by another group, this one all having glowing green eyes and blank expressions. 

"Oh, no!" Netossa said. "More of Horde Prime's zombies." She began to form a net. "It's go time."

Spinerella was about to respond with an affirmative counterattack with her wind powers before she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck that soon shot up to her head.

"Ah!" She crouched down and squeezed her eyes shut, holding her head tightly while trying to resist what was about to happen. 

"Spinny?" Netossa quietly said, ditching the net and reaching one hand towards her wife. 

Spinerella coldly slapped her hand away. As she stood tall once again, she opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing green like the attackers that had just shot through the woods.

"Spinny, no!" cried Netossa. "Not again, please!" 

Without responding, Spinerella summoned the biggest tornado she could form with her power at maximum strength. It soon sucked Netossa right in, spinning her around at nauseating speeds as she screamed.

"Spinerella, please!" Netossa shouted. "I know you're in there!" 

"There is nothing in here except the light of Horde Prime," Spinerella replied in a threatening monotone. 

"I know that's not true! I got you out once, and I can do it again!" 

The corrupted Spinerella shot her a shark's grin in return. "I'm so sorry it has to be this way, beloved." 

With that, she changed the course of her strong winds, throwing Netossa right towards a tree with heavy aggression. 

_Smack!_

* * *

Spinerella woke up in a cold sweat and shot up off of her pillow, biting her tongue to prevent from screaming. 

As she looked around in the darkness, she began to get her bearings straight, though her heart was still pounding out of her chest and sweat was still beading on her forehead. 

It was just a nightmare. A nightmare she'd experienced before, but one that managed to make her blood run cold every time she had it. 

Immediately knowing that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep anytime soon, Spinerella slowly and quietly slid off of the bed and tiptoed towards the door, making sure not to wake her still sleeping wife. 

After successfully sneaking out the door, she grabbed a pitcher of water and poured some of its contents into a cup before letting the nice, cool liquid slide down her throat, calming her frazzled nerves. 

"It's just a nightmare," she whispred to herself. "Horde Prime is long gone, and so is his control over you." 

As much as she told herself that, though, she still couldn't get rid of the uneasiness sitting like a rock in her chest and stomach. 

Meanwhile, despite Spinerella's best efforts to stay quiet, Netossa had been roused from her sleep by the sound of the door creaking shut. Eyes still closed, she instinctively reached one of her hands to her side, only to find the spot next to her in the bed empty. 

"Spinerella?" she quietly called out, opening her eyes and sitting up. "Where are you?" 

With no response, Netossa threw off her blanket and walked out of the bedroom to investigate. 

It didn't take much searching before she found her wife standing in the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. Some moonlight shone through the window, illuminating her troubled, tired face.

"Spinny, what are you doing up?" asked Netossa. 

Spinerella looked startled at the new arrival in the room, but soon calmed down and gently set the glass of water on the counter. 

"I had a nightmare," she whispered back. 

Netossa stepped closer and softly put her hand on her lover's shoulder. "Aw... What happened?" 

Spinerella felt tears well up in her eyes as she thought back to the dream she had. She tried to blink them away and get a hold of herself before answering the question. 

"Spinny?" 

She took a shaky breath. "I had a dream that Horde Prime was back, and-and he had me... he had me chipped again. A-and-" She blinked and allowed a tear to fall down her cheek. 

Netossa gently wiped the tear away with her thumb and turned Spinerella's head so she was looking her in the eyes. 

"I-I think I killed you," Spinerella finally finished, leading into another shaky breath.

Netossa held her lover closer and wrapped her in a soft embrace. "It's okay, Spinny. It's okay. Horde Prime is gone, and nothing like that will ever happen again, okay?" 

"I know," Spinerella replied quietly. "It just scares me sometimes. I could have hurt you, or-or hurt our friends." 

"We got to you in time, though," Netossa responded. "I got through to you, and Entrapta took the chip out." 

"I know, but what if you hadn't? Wh-what if I really had hurt you, or-or..." Her voice trailed off.

"Shhhh, Spinny..." Netossa patted her wife's back softly. "The 'what-ifs' don't matter. All that matters is what did happen. And what did happen is that you broke out of it, Entrapta made you all better, and we all royally kicked Horde Prime's butt."

Spinerella loosened herself from the embrace enough to wipe the tears off of her face and smile a little. "Yea." 

Netossa smiled back. "And you know why you broke out of it, right?" 

"Because I love you." 

"Exactly." Netossa held her close. "And I love you, too, and I didn't give up until I got through to you. That's why that thing that happens in your nightmares would never happen, okay?" 

"Okay." 

Netossa broke off from the hug, but still stayed close. "Now, do you wanna come back to bed, or do you want me to stay out here with you for a bit, or-" 

"I'll come back to bed," Spinerella said with a nod. "I think I'll be okay now." 

"Good." 

The two walked, arms around each other, back to their bed and climbed in. After they settled back under the blanket and Spinerella turned over, Netossa wrapped her arms around her. 

"Remember," she whispered as she closed her eyes, "you're my weakness." 

Spinerella smiled. "Love you, darling." 

"Love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, technically, I could have done this with Seamista or Scorfuma (I actually have a pretty good draft of this for Seamista, which I may post on its own or as a bonus chapter), or even for Catradora, but I figured Spintossa would work the best since Spin was the first to get chipped and kinda the ringleader of the Chipped!Rebels. Besides, I have a way too similar Catradora hurt/comfort chapter planned for later... Stay tuned for that. 
> 
> And stay tuned for tomorrow's entry, which will take a break from the ship-related fics. See ya!


	4. EtheriaKart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta makes a video game and invites everyone to play it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot! Sorry I skipped a day. Not gonna lie, that's prolly gonna happen a lot haha. But I'm sure that's understandable. I'll just try not to make any breaks between chapters any longer than that, yea? 
> 
> Anyway, nothing more to say that wasn't said in the summary. Enjoy this silly thing.

Entrapta could hardly contain her excitement as everyone she had summoned to the Dryl castle arrived one by one. As they came, she led them all through the castle's many traps into a room with a gigantic screen and many odd looking controllers strewn out across the ground. 

"Entrapta, dear?" said Hordak as she led in Adora, Catra, Glimmer, and Bow. "Remind me why all the other princesses are coming over." 

"I was wondering the same thing," Glimmer said. 

"Not like she's told us anything yet," Mermista said, sitting on the ground with her head cupped in her hand.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Entrapta replied with a huge smile. "But now that everyone is here, I can finally reveal it!" 

She pressed a button on a remote, causing the screen to turn on and display an image of what appeared to be a pixelated Horde vehicle in front of two checkered flags and a blue background with the word _START_ in silver at the bottom. 

"I've spent countless days programming and coding this," Entrapta said, patting the side of the screen affectionately. 

"Um, okay," responded Adora in confusion. "What is it?" 

"It's a game, displayed on a video!" Entrapta excitedly answered, holding her fists up under her chin and propping herself up on her pigtails. 

She explained further, moving quickly between everyone to demonstrate what she was describing. "Basically, you use these controllers to operate virtual vehicles displayed on the screen in a race across your choice of creatively designed tracks. I've already designed characters for each of you to play as, as well as many different options of vehicle customizations." 

"Whoa," said Bow with a smile. "This actually sounds really cool, Entrapta." 

"Yea," Netossa said. "Now, are we gonna keep yappin' on, or are you all ready to get your virtual butts kicked?" 

Catra laughed. "Ah, no, spiderwebs. You might get that sweet second place spot if you're lucky, though." 

"I'll destroy both of you!" shouted Frosta, standing with a controller held above her head. 

"All of you can dream on," Mermista said with a determined smirk. "Sea Ra's got this one." 

Soon enough, everyone was clamoring about how they would win and how everyone else would lose while Entrapta smiled widely and clapped with glee. 

"I'm so happy you're all so excited to play!" she exclaimed. "Now, Adora, you're player one, so-" 

"Wait, why is she player one?" asked Frosta.

"Well, I had to make someone player one, and she's She Ra," Entrapta answered with a shrug.

"Well, technically, was She Ra, since, you know, haven't actually needed her in a while," mumbled Adora. "But, cool! I'm player one." 

"Too bad that doesn't mean you're gonna win," Catra said with a smirk. 

"Anyways, Adora, press the button with the A on it to start," said Entrapta. "Oh, and that reminds me: controls! A is to accelerate, B is to go in reverse, you turn with the little stick in the middle, and you use items you pick up along the course with the button on the top." 

Adora did as she was told and the gang went through the process of setting up the game while Entrapta explained each of the items and courses. They all chose their respective characters, who looked like pixelated versions of themselves, as well as their vehicles and their first course: a beach/underwater themed one.

Mermista narrowed her eyes and cracked her knuckles. "Perfect." 

After the course was selected, the screen split into a different section for each player. Each section showed all the vehicles lined up in front of a checkered line. Over top of it all was a countdown in blue. 

**3**   
**2**   
**1**   
**GO!**

And the race was on. Immediately, Catra, Mermista, and Netossa shot up to the top three and remained neck and neck with one another, grunting and screaming at each other as they attempted to race ahead. 

Frosta, on the other hand, quickly fell behind, much to her disappointment. Noticing her pout, Spinerella tapped her shoulder and pointed to her own section of the screen where she had picked up a blue shell-like object. Both her and Frosta smiling, she pressed the top button and watched it dash to where Netossa finally clinched her spot in first place and explode, sending her once again behind Catra, Mermista, and now also Adora and Sea Hawk.

As Spinerella and Frosta laughed and all four racers now ahead of Netossa gloated, she gave both her wife and Frosta a lighthearted glare. "Not cool, Spinny." 

"What?" Spinerella replied with a teasing smile. 

"Besides," Frosta said as she picked up a rocket booster that soared her past Netossa and Sea Hawk while also knocking Netossa's vehicle over, "it's your own fault for not being aware of your surroundings." 

"Hey!" Sea Hawk shouted. 

Meanwhile, Scorpia and Perfuma both sat neck and neck in last place, barely moving ahead of one another. 

"I think you should go ahead," said Perfuma. 

"No, no, please, darling," Scorpia responded. "You should go ahead of me. You deserve it." 

"No, please, sweetie. Go on ahead of me. You deserve it more than me." 

"No, no, you definitely-" 

"Both of you are losing miserably anyway, so who cares?" Catra asked.

"True," said Perfuma. "I'll go ahead then!" 

With that, she picked up a rocket booster and shot ahead far enough that she knocked Catra down a place, making Scorpia laugh. 

"Oh, come on!" Catra yelled. 

"Not like you were winning anyway," Mermista said, smirking at her own first place spot. "This is a water course. Water's my thing." 

As she said that, though, Netossa picked up an orange flower, enabling her to throw fireballs at Mermista and sending her down to second place while she sped ahead. 

"And fireballs are not your thing," she said with a smile. 

"Virtual Bow is falling so far behind!" yelled Bow with his eyes squeezed shut. "Virtual Bow must be avenged!" 

He opened his eyes again and picked up a mushroom-like item, enabling him to race forward right ahead of Glimmer. 

"Oh-ho-ho!" Glimmer said. "I see how it is. And here I was, thinking that you loved me."

"Love has no place in competition, sparkles," Catra said darkly before throwing green shells behind her until one of them hit Adora.

"Oh, come on!" she shouted after being hit by the shell and going down two places. "I was already five places behind you! There was no need to do that!" 

"I know," said Catra with a smirk before blowing a kiss to her unamused girlfriend.

Soon enough, the race was over and the screen's display joined together again to display the final results.

"Third place!" Frosta yelled, dropping the controller and putting her hands up. 

"Second place," groaned Mermista, resting her head on her fist and putting the controller down.

"First place!" Netossa yelled, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "I guess it's what I've come to expect." 

"Oh, next time we play this, you won't be so lucky," Catra said, walking over to her with a fist in the air. 

"Wait, next time you play?" Entrapta asked. "As in, you liked it enough to play it again?" 

"Well, yea," said Catra. 

"I'm gonna be in first place next time!" yelled Frosta. 

"Psssh." Catra folded her arms and smiled. "Dream on, kid." 

"I'm so happy!" Entrapta twirled herself around on her pigtails and beamed. "Would you be interested in making this a weekly gathering? Should I have the chefs prepare refreshments for everyone? Should I invite the chefs to play along with us?" 

"Wait, are you all playing some kind of game in here?" Entrapta's incessant questions were cut off by a new voice. Everyone looked to the doorway to see Wrong Hordak standing by. 

"Hi, Wrong Hordak," greeted Adora. "Yea. We were just playing Entrapta's video game thing." 

"If you wanna play along, I have an extra controller," Entrapta said. "And I'm sure everyone wouldn't mind playing again." 

Netossa sat back down and picked up her controller. "Let's go." 

Everyone else followed suit and prepped for another race while Wrong Hordak smiled brightly and took the controller. 

"This time, Adora," Frosta said, "make it an ice course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was actually one of the first I came up with for this story. Which means almost nothing because I came up with like seven different ones in rapid succession and I actually don't remember which one came first... Where was I going with this? I got distracted like five times while writing this endnote. 
> 
> Uh, anyway. Your teaser for the next chapter is that it's a storyline that has been often thrown around in the fandom as early as season one involving a certain OT3/broT3.


	5. An Attempted Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta hang out for the first time in years, and decide to go to Mystacor to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's post-canon Super Pal Trio time, my dudes. And post-canon fuck up Mystacor time. What more is there to say?

"We're almost there," Catra said to her two companions.

The journey they were on had lasted about an hour, starting with Catra stopping by Plumeria to pick up Scorpia and then both taking Entrapta from Dryl. All three were now reaching a cliffside lined with soft grass blowing in the wind and duffle bags hanging off of their shoulders. 

"Oh, great!" Entrapta said, lifting herself up on her hair and looking onward. "We're at a cliff!" 

"We're at Mystacor, Entrapta," responded Catra with a roll of her eyes. 

Entrapta tilted her head. "Mystacor?" 

"Yea," replied Catra. "You know, Mystacor. Where Glimmer's dad and aunt live." 

Seeing that Entrapta was only staring blankly and blinking slowly, she added, "The place where all the sorcerers live?" 

Entrapta still clearly wasn't getting it. Catra rolled her eyes and groaned. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Glimmer just told me this was a good place where we could have some friend time together." 

"Yea!" Scorpia pumped her fist. "The Super Pal Trio is back at last!" 

Catra's first instinct was to tell her how stupid that nickname was, but she caught it before she could act on it and instead shot her other friend a tiny smile. "Yea, exactly." 

"Oh, so we're here for friend time?" asked Entrapta. 

"Well, duh," Catra answered. "I realized that I never really did much, y'know, friend stuff with you two. So I figured I'd make it up to you." 

Peering outwards and seeing a floating rock come upwards, she jumped down and summoned her companions to do the same. "And here we go." 

"Ohhhh, this is the place with the floating rocks and the magic barrier," Entrapta said as she thrust herself onto the rock with her pigtails. "How exciting!" 

Scorpia hesitated before nervously jumping on, letting out a startled cry as she hit the ground. When she realized she was okay, she sighed. "Man... that is a _lot_ of clouds and sky below us." 

"Don't be a baby," Catra said with a teasing smile and snicker. "We'll be fine. Plus, we're almost there." 

Sure enough, the floating rock went through the protective invisibility barrier and the lands of Mystacor came into view. 

"Oh, there's so much to study!" Entrapta exclaimed as she looked bug-eyed at the terrain. 

"We're here to relax and have fun, not study," Catra said as she and Scorpia hopped off the rock. 

"Right," said Entrapta with a declarative finger. "Now, how do we do that?" 

"Well," Catra responded while pulling a towel out of her duffle bag and laying it down on the sand, "I figured we could start with some sunbathing." 

At this point, Melog made himself visible, startling Scorpia, and curled up in the sand next to Catra's towel. Catra laid flat on her towel and put her hand idly on his head. 

"Not that I don't love Melog, but," Scorpia said as she pulled out her own towel and laid it down next to Catra's, "did he really have to come along?" 

"He comes with me everywhere," answered Catra as she turned onto her side and closed her eyes. 

Scorpia nodded as she laid down on her towel. "Yea, I, uh, I guess that's fair. He is your trademark animal companion and stuff." 

"Mm hm." 

Scorpia smiled at the sight of an already peaceful Catra laying with her back towards her, rising and falling slowly as she breathed. Melog was looking just as peaceful, curling up to his master and purring. 

Looking to Scorpia's other side, however, she saw an empty space, making her realize that the other member of their group was absent. 

"Uh oh," she said. 

"Hm?" 

"Entrapta ran off again." 

Catra opened her eyes and propped herself up with Melog sitting up and tilting his head. "Of course she did."

* * *

"So, how does this magical shield thing around the kingdom work? Can I make any technical modifications? In fact, can any of this magic be improved by science? I'd be willing to stay here for as long as you need me to." 

In the castle, an increasingly annoyed Castaspella was being followed by an increasingly excitable Entrapta. 

"There's no science here, Entrapta," she said calmly, but firmly. "Just magic, okay? You can't make any technological advancements. This. Isn't. Dryl. Understood?" 

"I understand," replied Entrapta with a nod. "But then can I at least sample some of the magic energy to improve upon the tech of my own?" 

Castaspella rolled her eyes. "Knock yourself out." 

"Entrapta!" 

Entrapta turned the other direction in the hallway where both her friends she came with were coming from and calling her name. 

"Entrapta," Catra said when they caught sight of her and reached her. "As I said, we're not here for your experiments, okay? We're here to relax and hang out together." 

"Oh, yea," Entrapta responded sheepishly. "Relax and hang out together. Right. Sorry." 

"It's all good," Catra said back, holding a lock of her hair and walking back the way she came. "Just come back to the beach with us." 

"Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

Back on the beach, Catra and Scorpia both got back into relaxation mode quickly. This time, Catra curled up in a ball as she slept in a similar way Melog did alongside her while Scorpia laid down on her back. 

Entrapta, while also laying down on a towel, wasn't sleeping, but instead playing around with the sand next to her. 

"This sand is unlike any other earth particle I've seen," she whispered. "I _must_ take a sample home." 

She propped herself up and reached into her bag, shuffling around through all the things she brought until she found a jar. However, pulling it out caused a few other things to fly out due to how overfilled her bag was, and attempting to put those back in caused a tear to form in the side of the bag and let even more things out. 

Scorpia and Catra both awoke to the sounds of scrambled shuffling to see the torn duffle bag and various technological equipment strewn across the ground by Entrapta. 

"Oops," Entrapta said.

* * *

"Now, according to the others, this steam grotto thing is something that we have to relax in," said Catra. 

The Super Pal Trio was now wearing white robes as they stood at the doorway of Mystacor's cleansing steam grotto. 

Going inside, however, Catra instantly jumped and hissed upon seeing what it actually was, Melog following suit behind her. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she yelled. "No one ever told me this involved water!" 

"Relax, Catra," said Scorpia as she stood by one of the pools. "It's not like Mermista water or water that you get sprayed with. It's nice and warm and relaxing." 

Entrapta pulled a thermometer out and stuck it in the water for a few moments before pulling it out and reading it. "Yes, the water seems to be at in the ideal temperature range for relaxation and cleansing of the mind." 

Catra still looked on with a frown. "Um, can't I just stand around it?" 

"Nope." Entrapta threw off her robe revealing the towels wrapped around her body and went right into the water, immediately sitting back and closing her eyes. "The air around the water is also notably warm, but not at the ideal temperature the water is." 

Scorpia took off her own robe and held out one of her pinchers. "Come on, Catra. I'll hold your hand." 

Catra hesitated for a moment before giving in, taking off her robe, and grabbing her friend's claw. 

Scorpia faced backwards as she slowly stepped back into the water, guiding Catra in. "Just take it slow and relax."

Catra's tail was stiffly standing straight up as she slowly put her shaking foot down. Just as it touched the edge of the water, however, she shot off onto the edge of another pool and screamed as she ran off on all fours. 

Scorpia sighed and was about to tell Entrapta to come with her and find their friend, but saw that Entrapta was fast asleep with her head back and sighed again.

* * *

"Ooh, what's this room?" Entrapta asked when they went back into the castle. 

"That's the room where all the sorcerers do their thing," replied Catra. "Don't go in there." 

"Aw, but it looks so cool!" To Catra's chagrin, Scorpia followed Entrapta inside and looked around. 

Catra sighed and followed both of them. "Guys, get out of here." 

"Why? We're not doing anything," responded Scorpia. "Ooh, this one's pretty!"

Before Catra could stop her, she grabbed one of the gems hanging in the air, immediately shattering it. 

"Uh oh."

* * *

"And that's how we almost destroyed Mystacor." 

Now, Catra was back at Bright Moon telling the story to Adora, Glimmer, and Bow. 

"How much trouble did you get in for that?" asked Adora with a chuckle. 

"Oh, a lot." Catra winced at the memory of Micah and Castaspella's faces when they found the damage. 

"So, did you still have fun?" asked Glimmer. 

Catra shrugged. "Kinda, I guess. As much as I hate to admit it, it's... it's fun to hang out with them." 

While the others smiled at the heartwarming comment, Catra narrowed her eyes and added another thing. 

"But next time, we're going camping."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this gave me season 1 fandom flashbacks. Anyone else remember when everyone wanted to SPT to be, like, perfect foils to the BFS? 
> 
> Usually both my beginning and end notes are longer than this but... I just woke up and don't have much brainpower yet, so I'll just cut right to the next chapter's teaser: An _A D V E N T U R E_ with what is, in my opinion, one of the show's best ships.


	6. Adventure Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sea-faring date with Mermista is interrupted when Sea Hawk is targeted by an unexpected familiar visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a thing. One of my first ideas for the fic, actually. But I promise, more soft and fluffy Seamista content will be here later in the fic. But for now, have this.

The afternoon sun shone brightly high in the sky down onto the seas that lightly rocked Sea Hawk's boat as it sailed on. Mermista stood at the edge idly watching the water crash against the bottom of the boat. 

"Oh, my dearest Mermista, isn't this such a wonderful adventure we're on together?" Sea Hawk suddenly popped by and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, holding her close. 

Mermista rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "We're just sailing around Salineas, dork." 

"Yes, but anytime I'm out sailing with you is an adventure of the highest degree." 

Mermista playfully threw his arm off of her, though still held his hand. "Don't get all sappy on me now." 

"Heh heh. Sorry." 

Meanwhile, a man with flowing hair and an eyepatch spotted the boat and the two people on it through a telescope. A shark's grin slipped across his face as he got closer to the boat. 

"Sea Hawk!" 

"Hm?" Sea Hawk looked up to see the much bigger boat approaching him. 

"Uh, who's this and how does he know you?" asked Mermista. 

"I, uh, don't know," Sea Hawk answered as his face turned red and he looked away. 

"Oh, he knows _very_ well who I am," the man said. "Told me I was his rock. His dearest. His adventure buddy. We sailed the seas together, and I thought it meant something." 

"Uhhh..." Mermista shot her boyfriend a bemused look.

"He's exaggerating! It didn't mean anything!" shouted Sea Hawk. "I mean, I've never met this man in my life!" 

"Oh, so now you pretend you don't know me?" the man asked. "You set my beloved old girl on fire. That boat was passed down to me from my father, and his father before him, and I had cared for and cherished it since I was a young lad. And you set her on fire with no remorse! And now, you go prancing around with your new flame, acting like you don't even know me." 

"Mermista is not just a flame, she is my one true love!" yelled Sea Hawk.

"Alright, Sea Hawk, tell the truth," Mermista said, folding her arms. "Who is this guy?" 

Sea Hawk sighed. "Mermista, this is Falcon, an old sea mate I used to, um, have a thing with." 

"Have a thing with? _Have a thing with?_ " Falcon stared daggers at Sea Hawk. "Is that all you saw it as?" 

"Look, it's kind of awkward to go into the details in front of your current significant other!" Sea Hawk put his hands on his hips and stared right back. 

"Whatever," Mermista said, rolling her eyes. "I've had exes, too, Sea Hawk. And I've ticked them off, too." 

"Oh, Sea Hawk did far more than just tick me off," responded Falcon. "He broke my heart and ruined my livelihood." Narrowing his eyes and pulling out a sword, he added, "And now, he's going to pay for it." 

"Well, fine then!" Sea Hawk pulled out a sword of his own. 

"Are you serious?" asked Mermista. "Can't he just, like, pay for damages or something?" 

"No physical money will _ever_ be able to cover the damage done to my soul!" Falcon yelled as he jumped off of his boat onto Sea Hawk's and began the duel.

Mermista facepalmed and dispassionately watched her boyfriend and his ex strike their swords together. As stupid as the whole thing was, her lips turned a little upward when she saw how good Sea Hawk was holding his own in the duel. He looked good fighting, even if it was for stupid, melodramatic reasons. 

However, it wasn't long before Falcon gained an upper hand. He managed to knock Sea Hawk onto his rear end and corner him against the wall of the boat, holding the sword directly to his former lover's face. 

"Look, I know that I hurt you, but is this really worth killing me over?" Sea Hawk whimpered pathetically, not noticing Mermista already preparing some water to use on the offensive. 

"Oh, I won't kill you," Falcon said, casually looking at his fingernails. "I'm just gonna make you hurt just like how you made me hurt." 

"Not on my watch." With that, Mermista sprayed all the water that she had been gathering right towards Falcon, tipping him forward and sending him over the edge of the boat. 

"Mermista..." Sea Hawk simply said in awe. 

"Yea, yea, you're my boyfriend and I'm, like, supposed to protect you and stuff. Don't make a big thing out of it." Mermista responded as she jumped into the water and entered her mermaid mode. 

Sea Hawk squeed and grinned ear to ear. "Ohhh, I still love it when she calls me her boyfriend!" 

"I heard that," Mermista said as she grabbed Falcon by the hair. "As for you, you stay away from him, or next time I'll be sure to aim where the sharks swim, got it?" 

Falcon rolled his eyes and spoke in a tone very unlike the one he spoke in before. "Alright, I guess playtime is over." 

Mermista let go of him. "What?" 

Suddenly, Falcon glowed green and black and slowly morphed into a devious face Mermista had seen before.

"You didn't have to get all threatening, sassy," Double Trouble said, frowning and rolling their eyes. "I wasn't _actually_ going to hurt him." 

"So you were just pretending to be his ex the whole time?" Mermista asked, looking a mix of surprised and angry. 

"Well, duh. It's my game, girlfriend." 

"But why?" 

"Well, Falcon was at that little soiree you two went to back during the whole, like, 'Horde Prime chipped everyone and is gonna destroy the universe' thing, and let's just say seeing your boy toy's face brought back some old memories. But, y'know, you kinda suffocated him with a water bubble when he tried to attack Sea Hawk the first time, so he was a little too scared of you to try another confrontation. But, you see, little old me crossed his path one day while bored, and we reached a little arrangement." 

"But I just ended up attacking you anyway."

Double Trouble rolled their eyes once again. "My lanta, girl, can't you read context? I already said I wasn't gonna hurt him. He just paid me to send a little message. Plus, he may be scared of you, but I'm not." 

Mermista trapped their head in a water bubble, making their eyes widen as they tried to break free and find air. "Now are you scared of me?" 

Despite their struggle, Double Trouble still managed to transform into Mermista. "Now are you scared of me?" they asked back in a mocking tone, muffled by the water. 

"Ugh..." Mermista released the bubble and let them go. 

"Look, it'll never happen again," they said, raising their hands to shoulder level. "Well, unless another one of Hot Stuff's exes gives me a good deal." 

Mermista groaned. "Just go away." 

"As you wish. But, um, can I get a ride? Not too fond of swimming all the way home." 

"Whatever." 

She took them back on the boat and sat down next to Sea Hawk, explaining the situation to him. 

"So your ex was actually the weird shape-shifting drama queen," she explained. 

"I prefer the term 'theatric individual,'" Double Trouble said, puffing their chest and raising their arm. 

"Whatever." Mermista glared at them. "But it's all good now. Once we get them home, we can get back to some alone time." She narrowed her eyes and smiled at Sea Hawk.

"Sounds wonderful, my dearest," Sea Hawk responded with a smile of his own. 

Not long after he spoke, however, the two and Double Trouble all noticed a shadow looming over their boat. Looking up, they saw another big boat with a muscular blue lizard woman in an eyepatch staring daggers at them, particularly at Mermista. 

"Hey, sea princess," she growled. "Remember me?" 

"Uh oh," Mermista simply said in response, grimacing with unease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, Mermista's ex wouldn't be scared of her. Sea Hawk would probably try to fend her off, but... heh. Anyways, teaser for the next chapter: birthday!!! 
> 
> Now, am I seriously about to seamlessly switch from writing this to writing a terminally ill nine year old having an existential crisis? Yes. Yes I am. Later!


	7. Party Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Catra's birthday! Her first birthday since leaving the Horde, to be exact. Party time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo yea it's been a little longer than intended. But alas, I guess quick update schedules can't last forever. In my defense, things have been fucked lately, as you probably all know, but I'm not gonna get into that on here because, let's be honest here, a good chunk of you are probably here to escape the real world for a bit (but make no mistake, black lives matter). 
> 
> So, anyway, to make up for my lack of updates, you're getting a double post today, my saints and sinners. That's right: two posts in one night, and all for only $9.99! Anyways... birthday time.

As the morning sun rose above the Bright Moon Castle, Catra roused from her sleep and slowly let her eyes open, taking in the sunlight. Turning over in her bed, she saw that her partner was absent. 

_Huh. I'm usually the first to get up._ She sat on the edge of the bed and stretched before getting up and investigating, Melog following behind her as he typically did. 

Adora wasn't too difficult to find. The moment Catra opened the bedroom door, she was standing directly outside it with a smile on her face. 

"Heyyyyy, babe!" she chirped. "What are you doing up?" 

"It's... the morning," Catra replied, taking a step back. "What have _you_ been doing up?" 

"Oh, no reason," quickly answered Adora. "Just wanted to appreciate the beautiful morning. You know, birds blooming, flowers singing..." 

Catra folded her arms and looked on suspiciously. "Did Glimmer throw a sparkle bomb at your head or something?" 

Adora laughed. "Oh, Catra, you're so-" 

The sound of the door opening cut her off. "Ah! Some company! Oh, I wonder who that will be! Let's find out." 

Before Catra could respond, Adora pulled her down the hallway to the door where Scorpia and Perfuma were standing. 

"Ah, Scorpia and Perfuma!" Adora said. "What brings you two here to the castle on this not-in-any-way-significant-day?" 

"Well, uh, I wanted to hang out with Catra," Scorpia replied. "There's a new restaurant that just opened up, and I heard they're having a bit of an opening party today, and best friends get in for free until sunset." 

"And I'm just here for a meditation appointment with Adora," Perfuma said with a creepily wide smile like Adora's. 

"Huh," Catra said. "Free food and a party. I'm in. Come on, Melog." 

"Yay!" Scorpia yelled, grabbing Catra's sleeve as Melog chased after both of them. "Let's go!" 

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." 

When Catra wasn't looking, Scorpia shot Adora a wink and a smile before closing the door. Adora smiled back and went with Perfuma to the throne room, where party decorations were being hung everywhere. 

"Alright, Scorpia and Catra will probably be gone for a couple hours," she said. "That's plenty of time. Perfuma, get to work on the floral decorations." 

"Yes, sir!" Perfuma said with a salute. 

"So, remind me why Scorpia needed to take Catra away," Entrapta said as she stood on a ladder, hanging lights up from the top of the wall. 

"I already told you, Entrapta," replied Adora. "The party is supposed to be a surprise. She's never had a birthday party before." 

"Oh, right," Entrapta said. "And surprises are fun, right?" 

"Yes, Entrapta. Surprises are fun." 

Adora went from the throne room to the kitchen where Glimmer and Wrong Hordak both were. "How's the cake coming, guys?" 

"Good," answered Glimmer. "Or, at least, it hasn't started on fire yet." 

"This is so exciting!" Wrong Hordak gleefully exclaimed. "I've never been to a surprise birthday party before. Do you think she'll like my gift?" He held up a sweater with a simplistic design of Catra's face on it. 

Adora smiled. "I'm sure she'll love it, but you should get that wrapped up."

"Oh, right. Presents must be hidden." He looked on in awe. "This culture is so fascinating."

* * *

After a while of walking and friendly small talk, Catra and Scorpia reached a stone building circular tables inside and a buffet and chocolate fountain in the center of it all.

"Hello, welcome to our grand opening," a young woman in a black and white uniform said to them at the door. "I'll get you to your tables." 

"Thank you, ma'am," responded Scorpia. As she and Catra followed the woman in, she wrapped an arm around Scorpia. "My best friend and I are excited to be here." 

The woman gasped and put a hand to her face. "How exciting! You both apply for our discount. All-you-can-eat buffet, all for free!" 

"Why, thank you!" Scorpia said as she sat down at the table she was led to. 

"Well, I'm gonna check out that buffet," said Catra as she walked away. "If you're taking drinks, I'll have some milk on the rocks." 

"Okee-dokee!" the woman chirped. After Catra was out of earshot, she blinked and revealed herself to have green, reptilian eyes, thus also revealing "her" true identity.

"Thanks for doing this, DT," whispered Scorpia. "I don't know how I could have distracted Catra without a deal like this." 

"Yea, yea," replied Double Trouble with a wave of their hand. "It's no problem, so long as I get my payment." 

Scorpia nodded and handed them a bag of coins. "Will that be enough?" 

"If Kitty Cat eats a reasonable amount of food, yes. If she gobbles up the whole buffet, though, or her little special companion wreaks havoc-" they pointed to Melog- "I'm gonna need more. After all, I do already have to bribe the owner to _not_ get me in trouble for this whole scheme. Had to knock the poor gal out with a cast iron skillet to get her to go along with it, can you believe that?" 

"Well, you know, not too many people are too happy when you imitate them and take over their restaurant." 

"I know! So boring." 

"Anyway, do you wanna come to the party? I'm sure none of us would mind you there." 

Double Trouble shook their head. "Unfortunately, I have a performance tonight. But feel free to save me a slice of cake, and wish her a happy birthday from me." 

As Catra came back over with a plate of food, Doube Trouble quickly went back in character. "So, that's some ice water with lemon for you?" 

"Yep, thanks," Scorpia replied. 

"Alright, coming right up!" Double Trouble walked away with a friendly smile on their face.

* * *

"Adora!" Swift Wind yelled as he entered the room, startling Adora and causing her to yelp. "I finally have the perfect present for Catra." 

Adora forced a friendly smile. "Uh, that's... great. Not that I don't completely trust your present giving skills, but what is it?" 

Swift Wind lifted a plate in his mouth that had a crude sculpture of Catra's head on top. "It's an oat sculpture of her!" 

Adora blinked in confusion a few times, soon joined by Bow who stood next to her. 

"Uh... that looks great," Bow said. 

"Yea," said Adora. "Great." 

"Thanks, I spent all day working on it!" Swift Wind took the oat sculpture to the table where various other presents stood. 

Adora and Bow walked over to the present table and looked at what was there so far. There was Swift Wind's masterpiece with a red bow tossed on it, a tiny robot cat from Entrapta, the new clothes Glimmer and Bow got her wrapped in blue paper, the switchblade Adora got her in a small brown box with a green bow on it, and an unfamiliar plant. 

"Um, Perfuma?" called Adora. "What's with the plant?" 

"Oh, just something someone Catra's type might like," Perfuma answered with narrowed eyes and a chuckle. "I call it catnip." 

"Okay then," Adora said. 

"Hey, is this where Catra's party thing is going on?" 

Adora and Bow looked to the door where Mermista stood next to Sea Hawk holding a blue box with a purple bow. 

"Hey, Mermista. Sea Hawk," greeted Bow with a smile. "Just set your presents here." 

"You know, it was Mermista's birthday just a week ago," Sea Hawk said. 

"Yea, yea," Mermista said back. "I was really lowkey about it, though." 

Sea Hawk beamed and pumped his fists in the air. "We set her ex's boat on fire together and stole a johnnycake from one of her crew members!" 

Mermista smirked as she walked away arm-in-arm with him. "We sure did." 

"So, is this party starting or what?" 

The newest arrival was Netossa, who came in with Spinerella and Frosta. Frosta held an ice sculpture of Catra in her hands while Spinerella held another box. 

"Catra's first birthday party," Frosta said as she set the ice sculpture down on the table. "This is so exciting!" 

"How did you manage to figure out what her birthday was?" asked Netossa while Spinerella set their gift down.

"Well, Hordak apparently kept track of the dates we were all taken in, and Entrapta pinpointed the dates based on how old we were at the time," replied Adora. "According to her, today is the exact date." 

"And there is no way my calculations could have failed," Entrapta said, hanging down from the ceiling by her hair. "In case anyone wants to know, mine is in two months and twenty-seven days!"

"Cake is ready!" Glimmer yelled as she brought in a red three-layer cake with a tiny Catra figurine on top and candles lining the second layer. 

"Yes, it was made with absolutely no problem!" Wrong Hordak followed soon after her, winking. 

"Great, we're all set," Adora said. "Now, we just have to wait for Scorpia to get back with Catra."

* * *

"That place was pretty good," said Catra as she, Melog, and Scorpia walked home. "We should go there more often. Maybe I'll take Adora for a date there, and maybe you could bring Perfuma and make it double." 

"Oh, sounds super great," Scorpia responded with a smile. 

"Say, don't you wanna head back to Plumeria?" 

"Oh, no. Perfuma is probably still there with Adora, and I'd rather walk home with her." 

Catra shrugged. "Fair enough." 

After more walking, they reached the Bright Moon Castle, and Scorpia could hardly contain her excitement. When they walked in, Catra began to walk to her bedroom before Scorpia pulled her towards the throne room. 

"I think you should come with me," said Scorpia. 

"What? Why?" 

"Just come with me." 

They reached the throne room, and as they did, all of their friends jumped out from behind chairs and Entrapta threw herself down from the ceiling and caught herself on her pigtails. 

"SURPRISE!" 

"What?" asked Catra flatly. 

"Happy birthday, Catra!" said Adora. 

Catra blinked in confusion and tilted her head. "What's a birthday?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yknow the last time i wrote a "birthday episode" for a fanfic it really wasn't this lighthearted so this feels weird 
> 
> Anyway don't worry, they celebrate plenty afterwards after Adora fills Catra in. Anyway see you in two seconds for the next chapter, which... come on. I'm not giving a teaser for a chapter that you're gonna see immediately after this one.


	8. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia finds an old picture and asks Perfuma about it. This ends up revealing some things and leading to a heart-to-heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> scorfuma for your soul

Whenever Perfuma was tending to her people, Scorpia liked to peek around at some of her things. Not in a way that would intentionally invade her privacy, but rather to find out what her beloved girlfriend liked and was interested in. 

It was one of these times when she found a portrait of a man and woman in flower crowns- the old king and queen of Plumeria, she assumed- holding a young boy between them with a smile on his freckled face and short, tousled blond hair falling over his eyes. What really caught Scorpia's eye, though, was the striking resemblance the boy bore to Perfuma. 

"Hi, darling," Perfuma chirped when she got back from her duties. "Whatcha looking at?" 

"Oh, just this picture I found," Scorpia replied, turning to her girlfriend and holding it up. "Who's the boy in the picture? Is that your long-lost brother or something?" 

Perfuma's smile faded and her eyes widened when she saw the picture. Instead of answering Scorpia's question, she awkwardly looked away and put her hand on her neck. 

"Oh, sore subject?" Scorpia asked, putting the picture down. "I'm sorry, I should have known it probably would be." 

"No, no, it's okay." Perfuma looked back and her smile returned, if only partway. "Um... yes. It is my brother. He's, uh, way older than me. Which is why I'm not in the picture with him." 

"Oh," Scorpia said. "What happened to him? If you don't mind me asking. I mean, again, if it's a sore subject, I'll-" 

Perfuma cut her off with a chuckle. "It's fine, Scorpia. He..." She thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "He's an explorer! He left behind the throne to go on an adventure through Etheria."

Scorpia looked on in amazement. "Whoa, really?" 

"Yea, yea! He once even swam across the ocean to Salineas by himself." 

"Wow! Your brother sounds cool! I wish I had siblings." 

Perfuma laughed, but there was some kind of sadness in her eyes as she looked away and sat down. "Ha. Yea." 

Scorpia sat down beside her. "So, how come you never told me about your cool brother?" 

Perfuma frowned and looked down without answering. 

"Perfuma?" 

With a sigh, Perfuma finally said, "Alright, I can't do this anymore. I can’t lie to my own girlfriend." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"The boy in the pic isn't my brother." Steeling herself, Perfuma added, "It's me." 

"Oh," Scorpia said as the information sank in. "Ohhhh. Well, why didn't you just say so?" 

"Because, when I tell people I used to be a boy, I feel like they won't see me as a woman," replied Perfuma. "I've had people break up with me before because of it. Saying they could never be with someone like me, and that they could only be with 'real women.'" 

Scorpia instantly wrapped her arm around her girlfriend and held her close. "Those people are blind. You _are_ a real woman, and anyone who lets the fact that you were born in the wrong body blind them from that fact and blind them from how special and beautiful you are is an idiot." 

Perfuma sank into her girlfriend's strong arms. "So you don't mind, or see me differently at all?" 

"Not at all. You're my flower, Perfuma. A beautiful, strong, caring woman, and the best woman a gal like me could ever be with. Heck, sometimes I wonder how I even ended up with someone as amazing as you. I know it's a little cheesy, but sometimes I look at you smile at me, or feel you kiss me, or see you in my arms, and just think to myself how lucky I am. That's never gonna change, especially not because of this." 

"Thank you." Perfuma wiped away a tear that had formed in her eye. "You know, it's times like these that make me think how lucky I am to have you, too." 

Scorpia dorkily smiled and blushed. "Aw, shucks. I'm nothing special." 

"You are to me. You're beautiful, you're a good singer, and most of all, you have a big heart. You've always been so endlessly kind to me, and everyone in Plumeria, even when they didn't accept you at first." 

Scorpia shrugged. "Well, you're my girlfriend. And I like to be nice." 

"Not everyone is like that. Those people who rejected me weren't." 

"No, they weren't." Scorpia paused, feeling angry as she thought about those people. "And if I ever see any of them, they'll be getting a taste of venom." She held up her tail. 

Perfuma laughed. "I guess it was kinda stupid to be so insecure about it with you. There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, we all accept Double Trouble for who they are. And Bow is trans, too." 

"Really?" 

"Yea." Perfuma chuckled again. "He told me his dads would have never named him after a weapon or let him name himself after one. He got away with it by telling them it was referring to his violin." 

"Bow plays violin?" 

"Yea! And he's good at it, too." 

"Wow." After a few moments, Scorpia spoke again. "So, why did you go with your name?" 

"Well, I've known I was a girl since I was a little kid. And one of the first things I did to express it was steal some perfume my mom made out of some of the flowers. She was actually the one who suggested that name because of that. Otherwise, I was gonna call myself Daisy." 

Scorpia snickered. "You do _not_ look like a Daisy." 

Perfuma laughed along with her. "No, I don't." 

After the laughing died down, Perfuma sighed and spoke softly again. "Thank you for loving me no matter what." 

"Hey, you always believed in me and loved me, too." 

"I try my best." 

"Well, I love you." 

"I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, yea, I know that trans Perfuma and trans Bow aren't _technically_ canon but... as a trans person myself, I'm happy to see them as such. also sting transphobes with scorpions for pride 2k20
> 
> No teaser for the next chapter because honestly? I'm pretty discombobulated with this fic atm so I don't even know. but like it has words


	9. Makeovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrong Hordak discovers the concept of "changing one's appearance," which Entrapta is happy to help him with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I came up with this on the spot last weekend while eating Chex Mix. Hope y'all like.

Entrapta had her utmost focus on the task she was performing, keeping her hand steady as she could as she finished brushing the blue on her formerly white canvas, making sure not to let any leak off of it. 

When the last bit of white was covered by the dark navy blue, she smiled and threw the brush down. "It's finished! How do you like it?" 

Hordak took the mirror his partner handed to him and looked at his hair, which now looked exactly like how it did before Horde Prime took him back. 

His lips curled up into a small smile. "It's perfect. Thank you, my dear."

"You're welcome!" She got down from holding herself up on her hair and shouted into the hallway, "Wrong Hordak, come check this out!" 

"Oh!" Wrong Hordak came running down the hall into the lab and looked in awe at Hordak's appearance. "His hair has... changed color? How did this happen?" 

"With this," Entrapta replied as she held up the can of blue paint and the brush. 

Wrong Hordak smiled. "You can color hair? I have never known of this possibility! Can you please do me next?" 

"Sure!" Entrapta went over to a part of the lab with even more paint cans and held several colors up with her hair and hands. "We have plenty of colors to choose from. Which would you like?" 

Wrong Hordak looked up in thought for a moment.

* * *

Entrapta added the finishing touches on Wrong Hordak's new look. It was spiked up into a fauxhawk and colored with a stripe of every color Entrapta had. 

"How do you like it?" she asked, handing him a mirror. 

Wrong Hordak beamed when he saw his reflection. "It looks _wonderful!_ Thank you, brother!" 

"You're welcome!" 

"So, if hair can be modified, can other things also be modified?" asked Wrong Hordak with wide eyes. 

"Of course they can! Hordak, well, you know, Right Hordak, used to look _way_ different from the other clones. The blue I put in his hair actually was part of how he used to look." 

Entrapta eagerly stumbled around the room on her pigtails as she continued to describe it. "He even had this exoskeleton, which I even fixed up for him. That's where he got his little pink crystal thing. I made it for him." 

Wrong Hordak gasped. "Can you make something similar for me?" 

"Of course I can!"

* * *

After hard work from the seamstress and tailor bots based off of Entrapta's measurements and Wrong Hordak's input, an outfit was finally ready. 

Wrong Hordak looked at himself in a full body mirror, striking a pose and winking at himself. He wore a long, backless red dress that hung halfway down his legs and had a metallic purple fake flower in the chest.

"You look great!" exclaimed Entrapta. 

"I feel wonderful!" Wrong Hordak said. "Thank you so much for allowing me these opportunities of altering my appearance!" 

"What is this?" 

Hordak now entered the room with a bemused expression. "Entrapta, what is the other clone wearing?" 

"He's wearing a dress," replied Entrapta. "Do you want one, too?" 

Hordak thought for a moment.

* * *

Now both Hordaks stood in front of the mirror, Wrong Hordak still wearing his red dress with Hordak now accompanying him in a much less flashy black dress. 

"Hm..." Hordak smiled a bit as he examined his look. 

"You look wonderful, brother!" said Wrong Hordak with an ear-to-ear grin. "Oh, we _must_ show these to everyone else!" 

"Great idea!" Entrapta yelled, throwing her hands up. 

Hordak blushed. "Show... everyone else?" 

"Yea!" Entrapta put her hand on his shoulder. "Well, um, if you're comfortable with it." 

"Hm..." 

Wrong Hordak shot him puppy dog eyes. "Please?" 

Hordak shrugged. "Well, I suppose..." 

"Excellent!" Entrapta yelled, throwing her hands up and giving her partner an excited kiss on the cheek. 

Soon enough, Entrapta was dressed in her own violet suit with a black tie and walked out with her arms linked around both Hordaks. 

"Let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't know how to end it so I hope what I went with is good enough.
> 
> Next chapter goes a little down tearjerker lane again, fair warning (unless I decide to be nice [read: not know what I'm doing because I'm a dumbass who writes by the seat of his pants] and go with something different instead)


	10. Due to the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the anniversary of Angella's death, the former Rebellion pays tribute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again with a new chapter after just a little over a month. Oops. But hey, at least it's the one I planned to be next, even though I said last chapter that it might not be. And it has words and isn't just a scene playing on repeat in my imagination, isn't that wonderful?

Micah was the first to visit the grave of his late wife on the anniversary of her sacrifice. 

"Hello, Angie," he said softly. "All the time I was on Beast Island, what I wanted more than anything was to see you and Glimmer again. And seeing Glimmer again was wonderful. I knew you'd do a great job raising her.

"Still, every day, I wish I could see you again. I wish I could hear the voice I fell in love with again. I miss you so, so much, more than anything. 

"But I also know that what you did was for the best. I saw you fly away while the world was being destroyed by that portal, and am at least thankful I could see you that one last time, even if none of it was real. You saved everyone, Angie. You saved our little girl, you saved She-Ra... you saved the world. 

"Your bravery and your will to do good are the reasons I fell in love with you." He rested his hand on the grave. "And I still love you. Until we meet again..." 

He walked away in silence as Castaspella approached the grave next. 

"I never liked you, did I?" she asked with a humorless smile. "Probably why I don't have much to say to you here. But I can't just not acknowledge everything you've done. You were a good wife to my brother, a great mother to my niece, and you saved everyone. Even when I look back to the times when you bugged me and annoyed me, I'll never forget that. Hope I see you on the other side one day." 

With that, Castaspella gently placed her hand on the grave before following her brother. The grave sat in silence for a while before Adora, Catra, Glimmer, and Bow came to the grave, Adora and Bow both carrying bouquets of flowers.

Adora knelt down by the grave. "Queen Angella. You took me into your home and believed in me. You were such a noble ruler, and despite everything you said to me, so, so brave. You saved us all. 

"I remember the last words you said to me. 'Take care of each other.' At first, I didn't listen to you, and it almost wrecked me and Glimmer's friendship, and almost put our mission in jeopardy. 

"But now, I know what you meant. You never wanted me to take it upon myself to protect Glimmer. You wanted us to fight side by side. Protect each other, and save the world together. And we did. And we still take care of each other. 

"Not only that, but the world is saved from Horde Prime. And while we all played our part, we would have never gotten that far without you." Adora gently placed the flowers down and got up.

Bow knelt down by the grave next. "Thank you for everything you've done, Angella. I've known you since I was a little kid, and you always made sure the Bright Moon Castle felt like another home for me." 

He scratched the back of his head and glanced away. "Um, I don't really know what else to say that everyone else hasn't already said. Before you, I never really lost anyone important." 

"It's all right, Bow," Glimmer softly said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know that she'd just appreciate you being here. You don't have to give a grand speech." 

"Right." Bow set his flowers down and got up, making room for Glimmer to take his place. 

"There's never a day that goes by where I don't miss you, Mom," she said. "We got into our fights now and then, but it doesn't change the fact that you raised me to be strong and brave, and made me into what I am today. No matter how angry you got at me, I never once doubted that you loved me." 

Some tears gathered in Glimmer's eyes as she continued, eventually rolling down her cheeks. "And you may have called yourself a coward, but you never were. You always did what was right no matter what, and most importantly, you sacrificed yourself so Adora didn't have to. You saved everyone." She took a shaky breath and her voice broke. "I love you, Mom." 

She got up and wiped the tears away with her arm. "Catra, do you wanna say anything?" 

Catra hesitated. "Um, yea. But can I do it alone?" 

"Of course," Glimmer replied as she walked a distance away. 

"We'll only be a little ways down when you're done," Adora said as she and Bow followed her. 

After making sure they were out of sight, Catra took a knee by the grave and looked at it in sorrow. 

"So, you died going through that portal, huh?" she asked. "The portal that I insisted we open, and that I banished Entrapta and lied to Hordak to get open, even though Entrapta knew it was dangerous and Hordak probably would have agreed." 

She sighed. "I'm still coming to terms with all the bad things I did. As happy as I am living this peaceful, quiet life with Adora and her friends, I still always wonder how much I deserve it. And I wonder that now more than ever, since I'm kneeling at the grave of someone who died because I was stupid, reckless, petty..." 

She let out a frustrated groan and curled some of her hair into her fists. "I'm the reason you died, and I just can't get over it." She released her grip and took a deep breath. "But I also can't change it. I can only move on and try my best to make amends." 

She placed her hand onto the grave. "I just hope that you can forgive me, wherever you are." 

As she got up to walk back to where her friends were, she mumbled, "Even if I don't think I deserve it." 

As she rejoined with them, she plastered a smile on her face and took Adora's hand as they walked together back home. As they set off, Glimmer turned to her with a smile. 

"She would forgive you," she whispered. "As a matter of fact, I think she'd like you." 

Catra smiled back at her. Maybe she could try to believe that.

* * *

Over the course of the rest of the day, everyone who had been in the rebellion came and paid their respects. Perfuma and Scorpia came with Frosta and left more flowers than any grave would ever need, Perfuma giving a small speech about Angella's good heart. Sea Hawk gave a mighty salute and got Mermista to begrudgingly do the same thing. Spinerella and Netossa simply stood in front of the grave with a moment of silence. 

The final arrivals to the grave, however, were a little surprising. Entrapta walked to the grave with a metallic fake flower in hand, followed closely by Hordak. 

"Wow, so many flowers here already," she said, placing her own down. "Do you think she'd like mine? It's not real, but it's kind of the best that I can do." 

"I think she'd appreciate it," Hordak responded. 

"Great!" Entrapta smiled. "Still, though, I wonder why everyone is doing this." 

"It's a custom among them to leave flowers as a tribute to the dead, dear." 

"Well, yea, I knew that," Entrapta said as she walked away from the grave with him, "but she's not dead." 

Hordak stopped. "What?" 

"Going into the portal didn't necessarily mean death. It simply meant she'd be stuck between dimensions indefinitely. I mean, _maybe_ she died, but given that she's an immortal angelic being, I don't think that's very likely." 

"So, you think this Queen Angella may be saved?" 

Entrapta smiled. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what we can do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honey we all know angella ain't dead and I imagine entrapta knows too
> 
> if netflix makes a movie and doesn't bring her back imma fucking riot (I'll also riot if there's no movie) 
> 
> Of course, if that happens, I also do need to specify that this fic would obviously take place before the movie then, or would have to be just totally AU if that's not possible. Either way...


End file.
